


Turning Points

by Natasja



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Characters using their words, F/M, Gen, Other, Turning Points, Villains are not nice, nor are they a bunch of has-beens, so do the rest of the Isle Kids, the Isle of the Lost was a TERRIBLE IDEA., the VKs need a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-01-06 10:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12209580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Natasja/pseuds/Natasja
Summary: Moments in time that could have gone differently, and changed a lot.Chapter One: Coronation, wherein Mal tells a few home truths.Chapter Two: After returning to the Isle, Mal thinks about what lies ahead and what she left behind, and she and Ben actually talk.





	1. Coronation

Mal stood within reach of Fairy Godmother's wand, within reach of finally making her mother proud of her. Yet, she did not make that move, despite being able to clearly see her friends staring, wondering why she hadn't moved.

Mal hesitated as Fairy Godmother lifted the wand, caught between the chance to stay in Auradon, blessedly away from Maleficent, and fear of her mother's disappointment. She hesitated again as Ben was crowned, swearing to do well by all of his subjects. Somehow, Mal believed him. She didn't miss the way he emphasised 'all', or the tiny glance in her direction...

And suddenly it was too late. A hand reached out, snatching the wand, heedless of Fairy Godmother's horrified cry. "Child, what are you doing?"

* * *

 

Jane struggled for control of the powerful magic, driven to desperation in her self-loathing. "If you won't make me beautiful, I'll do it myself!"

Mal turned paler than usual when an uncontrolled burst of magic smashed a window, headed in the direction of the Isle of the Lost. Deep inside her core, the magic that was her birthright shivered in response to the feel of her mother's glee. Pushing past Ben's protective arms, Mal seized the wand, wrestling Jane for control.

Mal had been fighting for high stakes almost since she could stand, while Jane had been sheltered. The struggle was over in seconds, seconds that Mal knew she didn't have to spare, as she felt Malificent coming ever closer. A part of her rejoiced to see the citizens of Auradon step back as she raised the wand, but a larger part mourned at the confirmation that she, that any of the Isle's comparatively innocent children, would never be accepted.

Ben stepped forward, cautiously, and Mal almost gave into the urge to cry. For all that Ben may have loved her, he feared and distrusted her, too. Confused, hurt and terrified, Mal lifted the wand into the air, "Stay back!"

Brave or foolish, Ben continued to approach her, as though she were a skittish animal. "Mal, you don't have to do this."

What did he know? Ben might be sincere in his desire to help the children of the Isle, but he would never truly understand them. He hadn't lived their experiences, and no words could fully explain the lives they had led to one who had not shared a similar fate. Ben had never had to fear his own family, had never been looked at like a constant disappointment. The Prince of Auradon had never wondered how long he had before his father declared him too much of a failure to live, or gone hungry for a week because his mother didn't think him good enough to deserve food. "You don't understand! The wand broke the barrier! It's unstable! Stay back!"

King Beast stepped forward, and in the crowd, Lonnie's mother started to draw her sword. Mal felt, more than saw, as Jay, Evie and Carlos ran up behind her, ready for a fight as every dream they had once dared to hope for crashed down around them. Holding back tears with nothing but sheer determination, Mal faced him squarely. "We don't have a choice, Ben! The rest of Auradon made it clear that we won't be staying here, and if we return to the Isle without the wand, we'll meet the same death as every other person who failed my mother's bidding!"

Chad broke the silence of the crowd, only a few of whom seemed to have caught her implication. "We told you they were evil!"  
Jay whirled around and punched him, knocking him down, his normally carefree face fierce with anger. "For one in your pampered life, shut up! Wanting to live when everyone wants to kill us doesn't make us evil!"

Ben ignored the byplay, focusing on Mal, "You always have a choice. Give me the wand."

Mal huffed, torn between frustration and gladness that Ben would never understand. "No! Jane's magic fractured the barrier, and my mother will be here at any second! If I don't have something to appease her or the means to fight her, we are all dead!"

A girl that was probably related to Snow White rallied, "So why are you worried? You'll be fine, it's the rest of us who need to be worried!"

Evie turned on her with a snarl. "You think villains stop being villains just because they're stuck on an island without magic? We don't want our parents ruling Auradon, but we don't have much of a motivation to save you jerks, either! You never gave us a chance to prove that we were more than our parents, and maybe if you had, none of us would be facing death right now!"

Further conversation was halted when another window shattered and green smoke poured in, resolving itself into the form of a laughing Maleficent.

Mal tightened her grip on the wand, not willing to let Maleficent summon it from her. "Go away, Mother!"

 

 


	2. Back on the Isle of the Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal looks back on what she left behind, and what lies ahead. She and Ben actually talk about why she left.

The ease with which Mal slipped back into her old self – the confident, vicious, powerful Mal who ruled her territory with an iron fist and fear that was only partially because of her mother – was almost frightening.

It also re-enforced just how much she had failed to fit into Auradon, and how right she had been to leave. Mal wasn't the kind of polished, demure princess that everyone expected Ben's girlfriend to be. She wasn't ready to marry, to be responsible for people who respected her because of who she was dating, rather than for herself. Mal was Isle to her very soul, and no amount of wishing or spells could change that.

Exchanging threats with Harry Hook, implying that Uma didn't dare to face Mal herself; Dizzy, who had worshipped the ground Mal and Evie walked on when they gave her even scraps of affection, benevolent to those who pleased them… it was as though she had never left. Still, she would need to face off against Uma eventually, and this time, she wouldn't have Jay, Evie and Carlos to back her up. Mal had held her own against worse odds without them before, of course, but she had grown used to having someone she trusted to watch her back. Her plans would need to be adjusted for their absence.

Mal retreated to her old lair, beginning to paint a memorial to the people she loved and would never see again. She barely needed to think about it as her hands transferred the images from her mind's eye to the wall, calming her tumultuous emotions enough to plan.

Her best bet would be to challange Uma to single combat, Mal decided as she painted Carlos. Quick and cunning, fearful yet determined to fight past that fear, and nowhere was that more evident than in his love for Dude. If she had time and paint, Mal would add the dog, too.

Mal could handle Harry and Gil in a pinch, or Uma, but not all three together. Jay took shape under her hands, strong and confident, justified in his carefree arrogance, but caring and protective underneath it. He had been Mal's first ally, back when the word 'friend' was a weakness, and understood her in a way that no-one else did.

Uma would have built up her own forces in Mal's absence, taking advantage of the power vacuum left by Mal's departure and defeat of her mother. Evie was next, sweet, kind Evie whose beauty and fixation on being a princess hid a quick mind and a strength that she had only begun to tap into. They had been enemies at first, but leaving Evie behind had been even harder than leaving Ben, because Evie would not be better off without her.

If the inevitable confrontation between Mal and Uma did come to a fight, it might be a good idea to sound out her own former allies, the ones who had followed for the sake of having a leader, but independent enough not to flock to Uma just so they had someone to tell them what to do. Mal traced her own profile, a wicked smirk on her lips and a challenging gleam in her eye. She had been a queen of Villains, once, not of princes and heroes and princesses, and she would be again.

It would not be easy, of course. Mal had abandoned her people, whether she had intended it that way or not. True, she hadn't been given a choice in going to Auradon in the first place, but she hadn't tried to return, either. Mal had been so busy trying to become a princess, a future queen who could someday call for the freedom of the Isle children and be listened to, that she had forgotten the things she could have done for them _now._ The Isle children had little care for 'someday', when they didn't even know if they would survive until 'tomorrow'.

Winning back their support would be hard, but not impossible. She would need to start soon, though; dear little Shrimpy wasn't stupid enough to give her time to settle in and get comfortable. Time was of the essence, and the gathering of allies even more-so.

But not yet.

There was one last face to finish. Mal closed her eyes, remembering the love she had never given voice to. Ben, kind and loyal and steadfast in the face of all opposition, determined to be the best king he could be, believing that no-one was beyond redemption. Mal hoped that he was right, but feared that he would be hurt when someone proved him wrong. Ben's smile and earnest eyes took shape on the wall, and for a moment Mal lost herself in what might have been.

* * *

She nearly ruined the picture when an impossibly familiar voice came from behind her. "I guess I should be glad you didn't paint me with horns and a pitchfork."

What was Ben, of all people, doing on the Isle of the Lost? Hopefully, her friends had played enough of a part to get him here un-noticed, but why hadn't they stopped her idiot of a love from coming in the first place? Whether they wanted her back or not, it wasn't worth the risk! "Ben!"

He smiled, shy and genuine and apologetic. "Mal, I'm so sorry about our fight. It was all my fault, I… please come home."

The word sent a pang through her. Auradon was better than the Isle, certainly, but it wasn't home. Not for her. "Ben, I am home. I tried to fit into your world, and I failed. I can't change who I am that much."

His eyes widened, desperation warring with stubborn determination. "Then I'll change. I'll skip school, have more fun. I'll make time for us, even if I have to blow off a few responsibilities."

Mal almost screamed in frustration. Ben may have wanted to fix things, but he couldn't. "That's just it, Ben! That's why I'm bad for you and for Auradon! You think you have to change who you are, to be bad and irresponsible, for me to love you."

Ben faltered, confused but ready to press on, oblivious to how his every attempt only made Mal more determined that she had been right to remove herself. "Mal, I don't – "

Mal shook her head. "You can't change who you are, and neither can I. I'm not the kind of princess Auradon expects. I don't know anything about Cotillion, or being a Lady, or how to behave at fancy parties. I tried so hard, but even with magic I was barely holding it together. I can't be what you need, no matter how much I love you."

Ben latched onto it, a drowning man clinging to anything that might keep him afloat. "You love me? You know that's the first time you said it out loud."

Mal nodded. "I do, and I know. I always feared that love wouldn't be enough for our fairytale, and I was right. I thought… I hoped that if I didn't say it, it wouldn't hurt as much in the end."

Perhaps he realised that they were only talking in circles, because Ben only nodded and handed her the ring she had left behind. "I think you're wrong, but I can understand your reasoning. We were both under a lot of stress, and there are things we need to work on. Just… think about it before you make a final decision. I'm not leaving just yet."

He kissed her, a soft, chaste press of his lips to her cheek, and walked back out, leaving Mal to think, her head clearer than it had been in weeks.

Ben was right, they did have things they needed to work through, whether they broke up for good or not. The question wasn't whether or not she loved him, but whether love alone was enough.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Don't get me wrong, I liked Descendants 2, but it seemed like none of the characters had learned anything and, with the possible exception of Evie, were turning their backs on themselves. This won't be the only time I explore the dynamics of their characters, but I thought that this scene was important.


	3. Tryouts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay was trying to fit in, to be the kind of Captain that Auradon expected, but some rules were just stupid and pointless.

Jay stared at Chad in disbelief as the blonde tried to cite phrasing in a rulebook as why they should reject a skilled and much-needed team-mate. The sad part was, Chad was actually serious.

Rules were flexible, in his experience, especially stupid rules. One lesson everyone on the Isle learned young was that Evil had no gender, and being female didn't make you any less of a threat. Maleficent and Evil Queen had ruled the Isle of the Lost, for whatever that was worth, at least until Mal defeated her mother, and no-one had tried to claim that being female made them unsuited. (If anyone had tried that in the past, they were no longer around to talk about it.)

Mulan was one of the few Heroes who was actually respected by the Villain she defeated, in Shan Yu's odd code of honour. Huns respected a good warrior, whether friend or foe, and none of them would deny that Mulan had been a cunning and worth opponent. Lonnie might be a lot more interested in fashion and balls than her mother ever was, but it was obvious that her parent's hadn't let her go untrained. If anything, Lonnie being female was an asset, because opponents who thought like Chad would underestimate her.

Mal and Uma and Evie were girls, and Jay would never even dream of telling them that being female excluded them from fighting. (Jay might dream about their hypothetical reaction to being told as such, but only in his nightmares.) Lonnie was no different, except that she had never been a Villain. She fought well, but without the passion and fury that came from knowing that every battle was life-or-death.

Lonnie might be a curious mix of girly and fierce, but she had proven herself competent. Besides, she was still holding her sword, and the glint in her eye suggested that she was close to using it. Chad might be a self-obsessed jerk, but he was also the best on the team, after Jay himself, and the team couldn't afford to be down two members just because one of them couldn't keep his mouth shut.

Jay had always been good at charming his way out of problems with a silver tongue. He could do the same here. "Chad, Lonnie just fought me to a stand-still, and we are down a team-member. Give me a good reason that doesn't involve picky phrasing in a rulebook that hasn't been updated in decades."

Chad floundered for a moment, while Lonnie smiled at Jay. Unfortunately, the blond rallied. "We don't know if the other teams will accept it, and we might get kicked out of the competition!"

Damn. That actually was a good point. What would Mal do? Probably curse Chad into long hair and a dress, and leave him that way until he re-considered his biased attitude. Jafar would either kill the prince, or _actually_ turn Chad into a girl, but Jay didn't think that a simple gender-change would make Chad any less of a Diva, and that wasn't something he wanted to deal with. Never mind, what would Evie or Carlos do to find a solution?

Thinking furiously, Jay bit his lip. "You both have valid points. Lonnie, practice with us for now, but I'm holding off the decision about putting you on the team until I talk to Coach about whether the 'eight men' thing is literal or just bad phrasing."

Lonnie scowled and muttered something about "stupid archaic gender stereotypes", but agreed. Chad glared, but couldn't find a better argument.

Well, that was one crisis averted. Being a captain was harder than it looked.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jay, friends with Mal and Evie, who probably faced off against Uma a few times himself, was just going to blindly agree with Chad, of all people?


	4. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between returning to Auradon and Cotillion, Jay and Lonnie talk

Jay caught up with Lonnie outside the Gym, where she had just finished putting the swords away. “Can we talk for a minute?”

Lonnie hopped up onto a vault, one leg dangling, “Sure, what about?”

Jay crouched on one of the large padded blocks that served as obstacles, a pose that would let him leap into action at any point. “I wanted to clear up why I didn’t want you with us on the Isle, and a few other things.”

Lonnie’s eyes widened, then narrowed. “Go on. I’m guessing it’s not the ‘because you’re a girl’ that I’m so used to getting?”

Jay couldn’t help but laugh. “The leaders of the two most feared gangs on the Isle are both female, as is the unofficial head of the Independents. It was never about your Biology.”

Her eyes gleamed, sidetracked for a moment. “Out of curiosity, who?”

Jay thought that would have been obvious, but maybe not. “You’ve met Mal and Uma, obviously, and the only thing more terrifying than them fighting is them working together. The Independents are the ones who aren’t part of a gang, but formed a loose alliance so that it wasn’t worth targeting them. Anthony Tremaine, Claudine Frollo, that lot. Freddie Facillier speaks for them when they need to negotiate with anyone else.”

He shrugged, “On the Isle, if you have the power and the skill, you have the position.”

Lonnie nodded. “So why wouldn’t you let me on the team? I proved myself, didn’t I?”

Jay nodded. “Yes, but everyone in Auradon is all about following the rules, and if I’m removed as Captain, it defaults to Chad, who would never let you on. I needed time to take a closer look at the rules, and find a way around it.”

He didn’t expect Lonnie to forgive him for that right away, but it was all the reasoning he had to offer. They had all tried so hard to fit into their new lives, stamping down their pasts and everything that made them who they were. It hadn’t worked as well as they hoped.

Evie had it easiest, having lived most of her life in seclusion, groomed to marry a prince and cultivate skills that were ‘acceptable’ to Auradon. That didn’t stop the nightmares, the way her family drifted apart, or how she occasionally stared longingly at the sword rack.

Carlos stayed out of the way, except for Tourney and Fencing and stolen moments between him and his friends, much as he had on the Isle. He tinkered with existing machines because there was no need to create anything new of his own.

They had fit in easily enough, unlike Jay and Mal. Mal loved Ben, any idiot could see that, but what Auradon expected in a princess was everything that Mal had been raised to despise. Mal had been taught to do and take what she wanted, regardless of the consequence to others. What people thought of her only mattered if it made them think they could get away with disrespect. Mal was strong and fearless and powerful, in a land where princesses were supposed to be meek and gentle and wait for their prince to save them.

Jay had been much the same, though he didn’t struggle as much with the public eye. Having girls (and some boys) willing to do whatever he wanted in exchange for a smile and some flirting was just another form of currency on the Isle, something he cultivated until it was as natural as breathing. Actually caring for their good opinion of him was new. Being made Captain was a chance to fit in and prove himself, and he had been desperate not to jeopardise it.

Fortunately, Lonnie didn’t hold grudges, too much. “OK, what about the Isle?”

Despite his best attempts, Jay grimaced. “The Isle of the Lost is hard to explain to anyone who hasn’t lived it. Kids aren’t produced in loving marriages, with a few rare exceptions, and it’s not unusual for us to die before we hit our teens. Our parents care how useful we are, and most of them would kill us as easily as they sired us. There are no fair fights. You’re great with a sword, but you fight like a battle for someone’s life was a tournament match, with points for chivalry, not like your opponent would happily kill you.”

Lonnie actually leaned back, eyes wide as though she hadn’t actually considered that she could have died on the Isle, a fact that the Villain Kids had been all too aware of. Most likely she hadn’t. Much like Ben, Lonnie had grown up surrounded by good, if sometimes judgemental, people. They couldn’t comprehend that people existed who cared for nothing but their own gain, no matter who’s back they had to sink a dagger into in the process.

Jay continued talking as if he hadn’t noticed. “I wouldn’t say any of this to Mal or Evie, because they already know; they’ve narrowly escaped death from that corner before. If they had tried to give a pirate back his sword like you did, I wouldn’t be lecturing them; I’d be burying my sister’s body. He underestimated you as a princess who could barely hold a sword and suffered from an abundance of luck. Don’t make that mistake again.”

Any other girl would have reacted angrily, but Lonnie only nodded, taking his words as the advice they were. “Hey, do you have a date for Cotillion, yet?”

Jay blinked at the change of topic. “No, why?”

Lonnie grinned. “Want to be mine?”


	5. Family Day Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the Aftermath of Family Day, not everyone agrees with Queen Leah

Doug had been busy packing away after the song and dance routine when the shouting began, and missed the bulk of it. Getting a very confusing jumble of events out of a few eye-witnesses, Doug immediately ran to find Evie. He was nearly at the table where the four VKs sat, looking miserable, when a voice made him pause. “Doug!”

Chad Charming’s voice ran across the quad, a not-quite-yet accusation that threatened to make Doug’s life a living hell if he didn’t comply. Was a few empty reassurances worth joining the Villain Kids in isolation, worse for the fact that he wasn’t truly one of them, and had far more to lose? For a moment, Doug wavered, about to mumble an apology and leave, but the crushing dismay and betrayal on Evie’s face stopped him cold.

In some way, even if neither of them knew what it was, Evie cared about him, and what he thought about her. He had stood up for her, when no-one but the other VKs had ever done so. She needed someone, needed him, to stand up for her now. None of the VK’s trusted easily, nor were they big on second chances. 

If Doug abandoned them, abandoned Evie, now, it would be a betrayal worse than Audrey or Chad or any of the others. She had trusted him, and what little faith any of the VKs had in the goodness of Auradon, never all that strong to begin with, would shatter if he broke that trust. Sure, he wasn’t a prince, but maybe that was a good thing.

Dopey, Doug’s father, was proof that a person didn’t need words to show their loyalty and devotion. If his few friends turned on him for being nice to people they disapproved of, then maybe they weren’t the sort of friends he wanted. Chad called out again. “Doug!”

Doug gritted his teeth and ignored Chad, sitting down next to Evie and putting his arm around her. “It will be ok. Maybe not now, or for a while, but it will be.”

Evie's smile took his breath away, and there was a minute softening from the other VKs. Warily, uncertain of her welcome but following Doug's example, Jane made her way over, ignoring Audrey stamping her foot in the back-ground. "May I join you?"

Mal looked startled, but nodded, shifting slightly to make room for the other half-fairy. "We won't stop you."

The analytical part of Doug that never really turned off almost made him raise an eyebrow. Mal had been raised without magic, even moreso than the children of the good fairies, yet sometimes she did things that so unmistakably showed her Fae heritage. The phrasing was typical of the old legends; a warning as much as an invitation.  _They_ would not stop her, but the other Auradon students might not be so accommodating. 

Jane shrugged, acknowledging the risk. "I wanted to apologise. I froze when Queen Leah recognised who you were, and I'm sorry I didn't have the strength to stand up for you all."

Carlos gave her a shy smile, Jay grinned, and Mal's angry belligerence softened a little more. "It isn't your fault. We should have expected it."

Rather than calming, Jane looked angry. "No, you shouldn't! People should have realised that letting Villains raise children was a terrible idea, and given you a chance! We shouldn't be looked down upon for being less than perfect!"

Realising that she had revealed more than she had intended, Jane shrank into herself, and Mal, looking both impressed and vaguely startled, placed a hand on her wrist. "I have no idea how no-one sees the glory of your personality."

Jane smiled, and Doug began to believe that maybe his earlier reassurance wasn't as empty as he had originally thought.

 


	6. Crossover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I was watching Maleficent, and suddenly thought of what might happen if Mal's spell, rather than turning her mother into a lizard, turned her into the other Maleficent.  
> Takes place during the Coronation in Descendents 1, after Maleficent attacks.

 

“The strength of Evil is good as none, when stands against four hearts as one!”

The dragon stopped, shrinking back into the form of a woman, similar yet different to the one Mal had known all her life. Instead of having her hair coiled around the base of her horns and hidden beneath a cap, this Maleficent had it flowing free, brown with a hint of grey. The cape and black dress were changed to a simpler gown of striking green, and she held herself differently, perhaps due to the presence of the massive, powerful wings that sprouted from her back.

The mania, the air of obsession that had surrounded her mother for as long as Mal could remember, was gone, too, replaced by cool wariness as she gazed around the hall. A loud caw broke the silence, and a tall, thin man with fae-fair skin, black hair and a beak-like nose forced his way through the immobile crowd. 

Mal had seen him before, watching the VKs, but had assumed that he was one of the many that were suspicious of them. Maleficent’s expression changed from watchful to outraged upon seeing him, and she made a gesture, the man turning into a bird with a swirl of green magic. The raven flew onto her shoulder, and this new Maleficent stroked him gently. “Poor Diaval, to be trapped like that for so long.”

Mal almost hated to break the moment, but there was a frozen crowd that needed to be dealt with. “Er, I don’t think the spell was supposed to do that.”

The new Maleficent glanced at her, a mischievous smirk playing over her lips as a wave of her hand unfroze the crowd, though an unseen force stopped them from moving closer. Fairy Godmother’s mouth dropped open, and Ben returned to Mal’s side as Maleficent addressed her daughter. “No? Four hearts that wanted to banish evil from me, to restore me to who I was before I was cut off from my wings and my magic and surrounded by evil and despair?”

Mal frowned, trying to work it out. Her heart, Diaval the Raven, Maleficent herself, perhaps. Who was the fourth? “So, you’re the mother, the Maleficent, that I would have grown up with if not for the Isle?”

A voice came from the crowd as a woman who resembled Audrey came forward, golden hair a marked contrast to her dusky skin, pushing past Queen Leah. “Godmother?” 

The new Maleficent pierced her with a look. “I’m disappointed, Beastie.”

Turning on her heel, she strode to the door, the raven flying behind her. “Mal, come, we need to retrieve the ones who never deserved the Isle, and repair the barrier before the ones that do deserve it escape.”

Bursting with questions, but with no time to ask any, Mal quickly kissed Ben and ran after her mother.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't ask me where this came from; I have no idea.  
> It probably won't go anywhere, either, I just had to write it down to get it out of my head.

**Author's Note:**

> Anyone who wants to take this and turn it into a proper fic, feel free. That goes for future chapters, too.  
> Just credit me and let me know so I can add it to the "Works Inspired By" section.


End file.
